The Department of Forestry – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement on sustainable forest development, aiming at water conservation and carbon neutrality.
Hanoi, July 11, 2024 , the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in collaboration with Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Company Limited organized a Public-Private Partnership Forum on developing multi-use values of forest ecosystems and launching the National Park Passport initiative.
Attending the Forum were Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, leaders of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam; representatives of ministries, branches, localities; a number of embassies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations; a number of associations, enterprises; national parks and nature reserves.
Promoting public-private partnership in developing the multi-use value of forest ecosystems
Vietnam has over 14.86 million hectares of forest with rich and diverse potential for forest ecosystem values. In recent years, the forestry sector has promoted the policy of "socializing forestry" through many mechanisms and policies. Specifically, in the viewpoint of the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, it is clearly stated: "...there are appropriate mechanisms and policies to support, facilitate and encourage organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to participate in forestry development investment".
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding today between the Department of Forestry – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam aims to realize those policies and viewpoints. Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam becomes one of the first companies to strategically cooperate with the Forestry industry in sustainable forest development, aiming at water conservation and carbon neutrality.
Director of the Forestry Department Tran Quang Bao and Mr. Jahanzeb Khan, CEO of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement in sustainable forest development, aiming at water conservation and carbon neutrality.
Main areas of cooperation include:
· Planting large timber forests, native trees combined with medicinal herbs is associated with improving people's livelihoods and aiming to increase the ability to absorb and neutralize carbon, protect the environment, and regenerate water resources. The program is expected to plant new and enrich nearly 250 hectares of forest, in upstream forests and protective forests across the country.
· Design and implement the "Forestry Semester" Program: Develop a forest experience program to educate about water resources, biodiversity and foster a love for forests and water resources in students and visitors to the national park.
· Piloting the “National Park Passport” initiative: This is an initiative to encourage people and tourists to explore and experience the forest and foster awareness of forest protection and development to achieve the goal of developing the multi-use value of the forest.
In addition, the two sides also cooperate in the areas of improving mechanisms, policies, and communications, raising awareness of nature conservation, biodiversity, the role of forest ecosystems, and water resource protection.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding, Mr. Jahanzeb Khan, CEO of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam , shared: “Throughout 30 years of operation in Vietnam, Suntory PepsiCo, together with relevant agencies, has strived to address environmental and social challenges through strategic partnerships and innovative models, bringing positive impacts to the community. Through the strategic public-private partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, we not only expand the scale of the ongoing forestation program, but also aim for multi-objectives such as regenerating and returning to nature more water than the company uses in production by 2050, contributing to carbon neutrality and improving people's livelihoods.”
Mr. Jahanzeb Khan, CEO of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, shared about efforts to address environmental and social challenges through strategic partnerships and innovative models, bringing positive impacts to the community.
Director of the Forestry Department Tran Quang Bao said: “The overall goal of the forestry sector is to become an economic-technical sector; to establish, manage, protect, develop and use forests sustainably,... to ensure broad and equal participation of economic sectors in forestry activities,... therefore, the role of both the public and private sectors is extremely important. We acknowledge the positive contribution of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam to sustainable development programs. This cooperation marks an important step forward between the two parties to develop sustainable forests and promote the multi-purpose value of the forest ecosystem.”
Director of the Forestry Department Tran Quang Bao said that the role of both the public and private sectors is extremely important and highly appreciated the positive contribution of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam in sustainable forest development, promoting the multi-purpose value of the forest ecosystem.
Implementing the “National Park Passport” initiative
This is the first time in Vietnam that this initiative has been implemented, with the aim of creating a mechanism to promote the development of ecotourism in national parks and nature reserves. Motivating tourists to experience and explore the values of forest ecosystems. Gradually forming a sustainable financial mechanism and creating momentum for national parks and nature reserves with tourism infrastructure to attract visitors, while attracting the community's attention to the sustainable values of the ecosystem.
In the first phase, the National Park Passport is applied in 34 national parks in the special-use forest system with tourism activities. Domestic and international tourists can own a passport in paper or electronic form. Tourists who own a passport will also have the opportunity to receive incentives and prizes when visiting national parks and meeting the required conditions.
Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam were awarded the “National Park Passport” – an initiative first implemented in Vietnam with the aim of creating a mechanism to promote ecotourism development in national parks and nature reserves.
Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam's Sustainable Development Programs
Guided by its core value of “Growing for Good”, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam’s sustainable development strategy and goals are aligned with the Vietnamese Government’s sustainable development commitments. Over the past three decades of operations in Vietnam, the company has made continuous efforts to realize its commitment through programs and initiatives that have brought about practical impacts, specifically:
· Forestry Program to conserve water resources : In Vietnam, the scarcity of fresh water is becoming a concern, and upstream forests are very important in providing water resources, maintaining biodiversity and adapting to climate change. Since 2021, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam has initiated a forestation project to conserve and regenerate groundwater resources in upstream forests and protective forests in 5 provinces severely affected by climate change such as Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dak Nong. To date, the program has planted more than 191,000 trees, covering more than 159 hectares of upstream forests.
· Mizuiku – I love clean water: An educational program to raise awareness among primary school students about protecting and saving water resources, implemented since 2015. In 2023, the program entered into a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training, and the program's materials officially became the Primary School Curriculum Guide, aiming to educate nearly 3.7 million students about the importance of water resources and how to protect water nationwide by 2025.
· Sustainable packaging initiatives: In order to reduce the use of virgin plastic in production, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam continuously develops sustainable packaging design initiatives such as launching products with packaging made from 100% recycled plastic, tea products with the lightest packaging in the global system Oolong Tea+. In 2023, we reduced 5,300 tons of virgin plastic, equivalent to more than 23 thousand tons of CO2 emissions.
· Sustainable development in production: By 2024, all Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam factories will have converted from using fossil fuels to renewable energy throughout the entire factory. The most modern factory in Asia - Pacific in Long An will operate on renewable energy, including solar energy and biomass fuel./.
—–
Press Contact:
Forestry Department:
Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh - Specialist of Information and Digital Transformation Department.
Phone number: 09786 09785
Email: [email protected]
Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam:
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong – Head of Communications Department
Phone number: 0908 66 11 29
Email: huong.nguyenthilien @suntorypepsico.vn
About Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam
Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam is a strategic alliance between Suntory Group – Japan and PepsiCo – USA. As the leading beverage company in Vietnam, we bring life to millions of consumers every year with a diverse and rich product portfolio.
Guided by our core value of “Development for Good”, we are committed to aligning with the sustainable development goals of the Vietnamese Government, contributing to building a future in harmony between humans and nature.
During 30 years of operation in Vietnam, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam has continuously invested, expanded and developed with 5 factories and 5 offices nationwide, creating jobs for more than 3,000 direct employees and thousands of indirect workers.
Source: https://www.suntorypepsico.vn/tin-tuc/le-ky-hop-tac-phat-trien-rung-ben-vung
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Mr. Jefferey Perlman, CEO of Warburg Pincus Group (USA)](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/4/18/c37781eeb50342f09d8fe6841db2426c)
![[UPDATE] April 30th parade rehearsal on Le Duan street in front of Independence Palace](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/4/18/8f2604c6bc5648d4b918bd6867d08396)
Comment (0)